Conferencing based on driver state and context

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure sets forth a computer-implemented method comprising obtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle, determining a state associated with the driver based on the sensor data, and transmitting the state associated with the driver to a teleconference session, wherein the driver is at least one of a participant or an invitee to the teleconference session.

BACKGROUND Field of the Various Embodiments

The various embodiments relate generally to driver assistance systems,and more specifically, to conferencing based on driver state andcontext.

Description of the Related Art

The rise of teleconferencing technologies has extended the sphere ofproductivity beyond the workplace. With the aid of telephones,conferencing systems, and the like, a user can participate in ateleconference just about anywhere, including in the home and even whiledriving a vehicle.

When a person participates in a teleconference using conventionalteleconferencing techniques, the people in the teleconference typicallyreceive just the voice of person participating in the teleconference.During a typical teleconference, while the other activities of theperson participating in the teleconference may be of interest to theother people in the teleconference, this information is not typicallyavailable unless the person participating in the teleconference informsthe other people in the teleconference or background sounds providehints to the other people in the teleconference. In most cases, theperson participating in the teleconference has significant control overtheir distraction level, so that distractions from the teleconferencecan be managed.

When the person participating in the teleconference is also driving avehicle, the person participating in the teleconference may not haveadequate control over their distraction level. The driver of the vehiclehas the dual burden of driving the vehicle and participating in theteleconference, and may enter into driving scenarios that distract thedriver from the ability to participate in the teleconference whilesafely driving the vehicle. However, a drawback of conventionalteleconferencing techniques is that the other people participating inthe teleconference have no way of knowing whether the driver iscurrently distracted from the teleconference or whether the driver cancurrently handle the burden of concurrently participating in theteleconference and driving the vehicle. The other people participatingin the teleconference do not know if the driver is distracted unless thedriver discloses such information, which interrupts the continuity ofthe teleconference and accordingly detracts from the teleconferenceexperience. In addition, many drivers may be too distracted by drivingto disclose this to the other people participating in the teleconferenceor may be unwilling to indicate that they are being distracted from theteleconference.

As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed are more effectivetechniques for conferencing while a participant in the teleconference isdriving a vehicle.

SUMMARY

One embodiment sets forth a computer-implemented method comprisingobtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle, determininga state associated with the driver based on the sensor data, andtransmitting the state associated with the driver to a teleconferencesession, wherein the driver is at least one of a participant or aninvitee to the teleconference session.

One embodiment sets forth a computer-implemented method comprisingobtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle, determininga state associated with the driver based on the sensor data, receiving ateleconference request, and responding to the teleconference requestbased on the state associated with the driver.

Further embodiments provide, among other things, one or morecomputer-readable media and system configured to implement the methodsset forth above.

At least one advantage of the disclosed techniques is that informationindicating a state and/or context of a vehicle driver who is alsoparticipating in a teleconference can be communicated to other peopleparticipating in the teleconference. Accordingly, the other people canadjust expectations for the teleconference or abort the teleconferencebased on the state and context of the driver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the variousembodiments can be understood in detail, a more particular descriptionof the inventive concepts, briefly summarized above, may be had byreference to various embodiments, some of which are illustrated in theappended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appendeddrawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the inventive conceptsand are therefore not to be considered limiting of scope in any way, andthat there are other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing system configured toimplement one or more aspects of the various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a conferencing assistance sub-system included in thecomputing device of FIG. 1 , according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example teleconferencing user interface thatincludes information indicating driver states of one or more peopleparticipating in a teleconference, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example dashboard for monitoring the state andcontext of a party to a teleconference, according to variousembodiments;

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate a flow diagram of process steps for communicatingdriver state and context information in response to a teleconferencerequest, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of method steps for communicating driver stateand context information in a teleconference, according to variousembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a more thorough understanding of the various embodiments.However, it will be apparent to one of skilled in the art that theinventive concepts may be practiced without one or more of thesespecific details.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of computing system 100 configured toimplement one or more aspects of the various embodiments. As shown,computing system 100 includes, without limitation, computing device 180,sensor array 120, input/output (I/O) device(s) 130, location module 138,and network 160. Computing device 180 includes one or more processingunits 102, I/O device interface 104, network interface 106, interconnect(bus) 112, storage 114, and memory 116. Memory 116 stores database(s)142, driver monitoring application 150, and conferencing assistanceapplication 152. Processing unit(s) 102, I/O device interface 104,network interface 106, storage 114, and memory 116 can becommunicatively coupled to each other via interconnect 112.

As noted above, computing device 180 can include processing unit(s) 102and memory 116. Computing device 180 can be a system-on-a-chip (SoC). Invarious embodiments, computing device 180 may be a head unit included ina vehicle system. In some embodiments, computing device 180 may be aportable computing device, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, mobilephone, media player, and so forth. Generally, computing device 180 canbe configured to coordinate the overall operation of computing system100. The embodiments disclosed herein contemplate any technicallyfeasible system configured to implement the functionality of computingsystem 100 via computing device 180.

Various examples of computing device 180 include computing devices,(desktop computers, etc.), mobile devices (e.g., cellphones,smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.), wearable devices (e.g., watches,headsets, etc.), consumer products (e.g., gaming devices, media devices,etc.), vehicle computing devices (e.g., head units, in-vehiclenavigation systems), and so forth. In various embodiments, computingdevice 180 can be located in a road vehicle environment (e.g., consumercar, commercial truck, etc.), an aerospace and/or aeronauticalenvironments (e.g., airplanes, helicopters, spaceships, etc.), nauticaland submarine environments, and so forth. More generally, computingdevice 180 can be located in any vehicular environment.

Processing unit(s) 102 may include a central processing unit (CPU), adigital signal processing unit (DSP), a microprocessor, anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a neural processing unit(NPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), and/or the like. Each processing unit 102 generally comprises aprogrammable processor that executes program instructions to manipulateinput data. In some embodiments, processing unit(s) 102 may include anynumber of processing cores, memories, and other modules for facilitatingprogram execution. In some embodiments, processing unit(s) 102 can beconfigured to execute driver monitoring application 150 to providedriver monitoring services and conferencing assistance application 152to provide conferencing assistance services. In some embodiments, drivermonitoring application 150 determines driver state(s) and/or context(s)based on sensor data and provides the driver state(s) and/or context(s)to conferencing assistance application 152. In some embodiments,conferencing assistance application 152 uses the driver state(s) and/orcontexts to provide conferencing assistance services including, forexample, generating driver state and/or context information andcommunicating that information, or responding to teleconference requestsbased on driver state and/or context.

Storage 114 can include non-volatile storage for applications, softwaremodules, and data, and can include fixed or removable disk drives, flashmemory devices, and CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, or other magnetic,optical, solid state storage devices, and/or the like. For example,conferencing assistance application 152, driver monitoring application150, and database(s) 142 could be stored in storage 114, and then loadedinto memory 116 as needed.

Memory 116 can include a memory module or collection of memory modules.Memory 116 generally comprises storage chips such as random accessmemory (RAM) chips that store application programs and data forprocessing by processing unit 102. Processing unit(s) 102, I/O deviceinterface 104, and network interface 106 can be configured to read datafrom and write data to memory 116. Driver monitoring application 150 andconferencing assistance application 152 can be loaded from storage 114into memory 116. While in memory 116, driver monitoring application 150and conferencing assistance application 152 can be executed byprocessing unit(s) 102 to implement the functionality described in thepresent disclosure.

Database(s) 142 can store values and other data retrieved or computed byprocessing unit(s) 102 to coordinate the operation of driver monitoringapplication 150 and conferencing assistance application 152. Database(s)142 may be stored in storage 114 and loaded into memory 116 as needed.In various embodiments, processing unit(s) 102 may be configured tostore data and/or information (e.g., values, computed ratings or scores,generated information) associated with driver state and/or context indatabase(s) 142 and/or retrieve data and/or information stored indatabase(s) 142. For example, database(s) 142 could store historicaldriver state values, face recognition information, person identificationinformation, lookup tables, driver state and/or context algorithms(e.g., affective-cognitive load algorithms), driver state and/or contextthresholds, mappings of sensor values to driver state and/or contextmetrics, mappings of driver state and/or context values to driverdistraction ratings or scores, information associated with externalconferencing applications and associated application programminginterfaces (APIs), and so forth. In some embodiments, database(s) 142may receive periodic updates for at least a portion of the data storedin database(s) 142 (e.g., updates to lookup tables, mappings, and/oralgorithms) from a remote computing system (e.g., a cloud computingsystem or a remote server system) via network interface 106 and network160.

Sensor array 120 includes one or more sensor devices that performmeasurements and/or acquire data related to certain subjects in anenvironment. In various embodiments, sensor array 120 can generatesensor data associated with a state and/or context of a driver of avehicle. For example, sensor array 120 could collect biometric datarelated to the driver (e.g., heart rate, brain activity, skinconductance, blood oxygenation, pupil size, eye motion, galvanic skinresponse, blood-pressure level, average blood glucose concentration,etc.). Additionally or alternatively, sensor array 120 can generatesensor data associated with a cabin of the vehicle. For example, sensorarray 120 could generate sensor data about the presence of otheroccupants in the vehicle, the environment within the cabin of thevehicle, operation of the vehicle, and so forth. In some embodiments,sensor array 120 can be coupled to and/or included within computingdevice 180 and send sensor data to processing unit(s) 102. Processingunit(s) 102 execute driver monitoring application 150 in order todetermine driver states and/or contexts that are derived from theacquired sensor data.

In various embodiments, sensor array 120 may acquire sensor data thatdriver monitoring application 150 processes in order to classify anemotion or emotional state that the driver is experiencing. For example,sensor array 120 could include a driver-facing camera that records theface and/or the eyes of the driver as image data. Driver monitoringapplication 150 could then analyze the image data in order to determinethe facial expression of the user, and then map the facial expression toan emotional state. In another example, sensor array 120 could includesensors in various parts of the vehicle (e.g., driver seat, steeringwheel, etc.) that acquire biological and/or physiological signals of thedriver of the vehicle (e.g., perspiration, heart rate, heart-ratevariability (HRV), blood flow, blood-oxygen levels, breathing rate,galvanic skin response (GSR), sounds created by a user, behaviors of auser, etc.). In such instances, driver monitoring application 150 couldcompute one or more quantitative emotional parameterized metrics, suchas emotional arousal (A), emotional valence (V), and/or emotionaldominance that indicate the emotion the user is experiencing.

In various embodiments, sensor array 120 may also acquire data thatdriver monitoring application 150 can process in order to compute acognitive load that a user is experiencing. For example, sensor array120 could include a pupil sensor (e.g., a camera focused on the eyes ofthe driver) that acquires image data about at least one pupil of thedriver. Driver monitoring application 150 could then perform variouspupillometry techniques to detect eye parameters (e.g., fluctuations inthe pupil diameter of the driver, gaze direction of the pupil, eye lidposition, etc.) in order to estimate a cognitive load of the driver. Inanother example, sensor array 120 could include heart rate sensorsand/or other biometric sensors that acquire biological and/orphysiological signals of the driver (e.g., heart rate, breathing rate,eye motions, GSR, neural brain activity, etc.). In such instances,driver monitoring application 150 could compute the cognitive load fromone or more of the acquired biological and/or physiological signals.

In various embodiments, sensor array 120 may include imaging sensors,such as RGB cameras, infrared cameras, depth cameras, and/or cameraarrays, which include two or more of such cameras. Sensor array 120 mayfurther include other sensors, including but not limited to imagers,laser sensors, ultrasound sensors, radar sensors, and/or LIDAR sensors.In some embodiments, sensor array 120 may include physical sensors, suchas touch sensors, pressure sensors, position sensors (e.g., anaccelerometer and/or an inertial measurement unit (IMU)), motionsensors, and so forth, that register the body positions and/or movementsof the driver of the vehicle. In such instances, driver monitoringapplication 150 may analyze the acquired sensor data to determine themovement of the driver, and then correlate such movement with specificemotions (e.g., boredom, fatigue, arousal, etc.) and/or a cognitive loadof the driver. In some embodiments, the same sensors described above canmonitor the cabin of the vehicle and other occupants in the cabin, anddriver monitoring application 150 can determine a context associatedwith the driver (e.g., presence of other occupants in the vehicle,interaction of the other occupants with the driver) based on the sensordata.

In various embodiments, sensor array 120 may include physiologicalsensors, such as heart-rate monitors, electroencephalography (EEG)systems, radio sensors, thermal sensors, galvanic skin response sensors(e.g., sensors that measure change in electrical resistance of skincaused by emotional stress), contactless sensor systems,magnetoencephalography (MEG) systems, and so forth. In variousembodiments, driver monitoring application 150 may execute spectralentropy, weighted mean frequency, bandwidth, and/or spectral edgefrequency to determine cognitive load from the acquired sensor data.

In addition, in some embodiments, sensor array 120 may include acousticsensors, such as a microphone and/or a microphone array that acquiressound data. Such sound data may be processed by driver monitoringapplication 150 performing various natural language (NL) processingtechniques, sentiment analysis, and/or speech analysis in order todetermine the semantic meaning of the phrases spoken in the environment,determine relationships between the driver and any occupants in thevehicle, and/or infer emotional parameterized metrics from the semanticmeaning. In another example, driver monitoring application 150 couldanalyze the acquired sound data using voice-tone analysis in order toinfer emotion and or relationships from the speech signal included inthe sound data. In some embodiments, driver monitoring application 150may execute various analysis techniques relating to the spectralcentroid frequency and/or amplitude of the sound signal in order toclassify the sound signal to a specific value for the cognitive load.

In some embodiments, sensor array 120 may include behavioral sensorsthat detect the activity of the driver and occupants of the vehicle.Such behavioral sensors may include devices that acquire relatedactivity data, such as devices that acquire application usage dataand/or mobile device usage data. In such instances, driver monitoringapplication 150 may determine the driver state and context (e.g., drivercognitive load, driver emotional parameterized metrics, mediaconsumption by vehicle occupants) by determining the activities in whichthe driver and/or other vehicle occupants are currently engaged. Forexample, driver monitoring application 150 could obtain mediaconsumption and/or application usage activity from devices being used byvehicle occupants to determine vehicle occupant activity.

In some embodiments, sensor array 120 may further include one or moresensor devices configured to monitor the external environment of thevehicle. For example, sensor array 129 could include imaging devices(e.g., cameras), light sensors, LIDAR, temperature sensors, humiditysensors, air pressure sensors, and so forth.

I/O device(s) 130 may include devices capable of receiving input, suchas a keyboard, a mouse, a touch-sensitive screen, a microphone and otherinput devices for providing input data to computing device 180. Invarious embodiments, I/O device(s) 130 may include devices capable ofproviding output, such as a display screen, one or more speakers (e.g.,a loudspeaker array for spatial sound generation, ultrasound speakersfor highly directional sound generation), haptic devices, touchlesshaptic devices (e.g., for creating haptic sensations at a distance),and/or the like. One or more of I/O devices 130 can be incorporated incomputing device 180 or may be external to computing device 180. I/Odevices 130 interface with computing device 180 via I/O devicesinterface 104. In some embodiments, computing device 180 and/or one ormore I/O device(s) 130 may be components of an infotainment systemimplemented in a vehicle. In various embodiments, driver monitoringapplication 150 may determine driver state and/or context based oninputs received by one or more I/O devices 130. For example, the vehiclecould include a head unit that includes a user interface. In suchinstances, driver monitoring application 150 could determine driverstate and/or context of the driver based on one or more inputs receivedvia the head unit.

In various embodiments, I/O devices 130 include one or more audiospeakers 132, one or more display devices 134, and one or more inputdevices 136. Examples of display devices 134 include, withoutlimitation, LCD displays, LED displays, heads-up displays, head-mounteddisplays, or touch-sensitive screens. Examples of input devices 136include, without limitation, buttons, knobs, dials, a touchpad, atouch-sensitive screen, joysticks, or a microphone. Additionally, I/Odevices 130 may include other devices capable of receiving input and/oroutput.

Network 160 may enable communications between computing device 180 andother devices in network via wired and/or wireless communicationsprotocols, satellite networks, telephone networks, V2X networks,including Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), wireless local areanetwork (WiFi), cellular protocols, and/or near-field communications(NFC). Network 160 is any technically feasible type of communicationsnetwork that allows data to be exchanged between computing device 180and remote systems or devices, such as a server, a cloud computingsystem, cloud-based storage, or other networked computing device orsystem. For example, network 160 could include a wide area network(WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless network (e.g., a Wi-Finetwork, a cellular data network), and/or the Internet, among others.Computing device 180 can connect with network 160 via network interface106. In some embodiments, network interface 106 is hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software, that is configured to connectto and interface with network 160. In various embodiments, computingdevice 180 can communicate with a remote computing system providingteleconferencing systems via network 160. For example, a remotecomputing system (e.g., a cloud computing system) can host ateleconferencing “space,” and computing device 180 can connect to thatteleconferencing space via a telephone network and/or the Internet.

Location module 138 includes hardware and/or software components fordetermining a geographic location of computing device 180 (e.g., acurrent location of the vehicle). Location module 138 may determine alocation of computing device 180 via acquisition of geolocation data(e.g., from a global navigation satellite system, such as a globalpositioning system (GPS), Glonass, Galileo, Beidou, etc.) and/ordetermination of location based on sensor data from sensor array 120(e.g., dead reckoning). Location module 138 may also cross-reference anacquired and/or determined geographic location with a navigationdatabase in database(s) 142 to determine address informationcorresponding to the geographic location. In some embodiments, drivermonitoring application 150 can determine a driver context using thelocation of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, computing device 180 can pair and communicate withanother computing device in proximity. That another computing device cancouple to computing device 180 via I/O device interface 104 and/ornetwork interface 106 and networks 160 using any suitable wired (e.g.,USB cable) or wireless (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) connection. Applicationson computing device 180 can communicate and interface with applicationson that another computing device. For example, conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can communicate and interface with a conferencingapplication on that another computing device transmit information in ateleconference session.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conferencing assistance sub-system 200 included incomputing device 180, according to various embodiments. As shown,conferencing assistance sub-system 200 includes sensor array 120, drivermonitoring application 150, conferencing assistance application 152, andoptionally location module 138.

In operation, processing unit(s) 102 execute driver monitoringapplication 150, which receives sensor data 222 from sensor array 120.Driver monitoring application 150 processes sensor data 222 anddetermines one or more states and/or contexts associated with a driverof the vehicle based on sensor data 222. Driver monitoring application150 can transmit the driver states and/or contexts to conferencingassistance application 152 and/or store the drier states and/or contextsin database(s) 142. In some embodiments, driver monitoring application150 determines driver state(s) 202, an internal context(s) 204, and/oran external context(s) 206. Driver state(s) 202 associated with thedriver may include biometric values associated with apsychophysiological state of the driver of a vehicle and/or statesderived or determined from the biometric values. Examples of driverstates 202 can include, for example and without limitation, headorientation and eye gaze direction, eye lid state, a cognitive load thatestimates an amount of brain activity that a user is employing, anaffective load that estimates an emotion (specified as a pre-definedemotion or a set of emotion parameterized metrics associated with apsychophysiological state) that a user is experiencing, anaffective-cognitive load, a stress level, a driving engagement level, adistraction metric, a fatigue metric, and/or the like. In variousembodiments, the affective load may include one or more separateemotional metrics, such as separate arousal, valence, and/or dominancevalues. Additionally or alternatively, the affective load may compriseone or more discrete emotional states and/or associated values of each.Upon determining biometric values for a driver in sensor data 222,driver monitoring application 150 can combine the biometric values viaone or more estimation algorithms to determine one or more driver states202 (e.g., an affective-cognitive load (ACL) as a composite of certainbiometric values, etc.).

In some embodiments, driver monitoring application 150 processes sensordata 222 to additionally determine one or more “internal” contexts 204.Internal context(s) 204 include contextual information associated withdriver of the vehicle and/or the cabin of the vehicle. Examples ofinternal context(s) 204 include, without limitation, number ofadditional occupants in the vehicle, relationships of occupants with thedriver (e.g., spouse, child, friend, client passenger), activities ofthe occupants (e.g., eating, sleeping, consuming media), sound level inthe cabin, conversational situation in the cabin (e.g., who is talkingto whom), media consumption in the cabin (e.g., types of content beingconsumed, who is consuming content, identification content beingconsumed), purpose of vehicle travel (e.g., commute, driving child toactivity, to or from entertainment activity), or mood in the vehicle(e.g., average emotional state of occupants). More generally, internalcontext(s) 204 can include any contextual information associated withthe occupants, activities, and/or content in the cabin that can affectan ability of the driver to participate in a teleconference whiledriving the vehicle.

In some embodiments, driver monitoring application 150 processes sensordata 222 to additionally determine one or more “external” contexts 206.External context(s) 206 include contextual information associated withthe environment outside of the vehicle. Examples of external context(s)206 include, without limitation, traffic density level, weatherconditions, pedestrian density, detected obstacles or other imminentcrash conditions, or difficulty level on the road or route (e.g., is theroad empty, is the road a steep mountain road).

In some embodiments, driver monitoring application 150 can also receivelocation data 224, which indicates location information associated withthe vehicle, from location module 138. Driver monitoring application 150can use location data 224 as additional data to determine driverstate(s) 202 (e.g., determining locations where, historically, thedriver consistently experiences a high distraction level, a highcognitive load, high emotional load, high driver engagement level,and/or the like that is above a threshold), internal context(s) 204,and/or external context(s) 206.

In operation, processing unit(s) 102 execute conferencing assistanceapplication 152 to provide conferencing assistance services, and/orinterface with other applications and/or systems to provide conferencingassistance services. Examples of conferencing assistance servicesinclude, without limitation, communication of driver state and/orcontext information in a teleconference session, or responding to anincoming teleconference request based on the driver state and/orcontext. Conferencing assistance application 152 can receive driverstate(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206from driver monitoring application 150 and/or database(s) 142.Conferencing assistance application 152 can generate driver state and/orcontext information 230 from driver state(s) 202, internal context(s)204, and/or external context(s) 206. Driver state and/or contextinformation 230 can be a summary, condensation, visualization, or otherpresentable expressions of driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204,and/or external context(s) 206. For example, driver state and/or contextinformation 230 could be a score, a rating, a percentage, a word, acolor, an emoji, an emoticon, a symbol, an icon, and/or a phrase thatrepresents driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or externalcontext(s) 206. As another example, driver state and/or contextinformation 230 could include visualizations (e.g., charts, graphs) ofcertain specific driver state parameters (e.g., cognitive load,emotional load, stress level, heart rate, pulse). In some embodiments,driver monitoring application 150 and conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can be combined.

As used herein, a “teleconference” is any gathering of two or moreparties (e.g., two or more persons) for exchange and articulation ofinformation, for collaboration, or for any other communication betweenthe parties, where the parties are remote from one another (e.g., oneparty is remote from the other parties, each party is remote from theother parties, etc.) but the parties are linked together by atelecommunications system (e.g., network 160, such as a telephonynetwork, the Internet, etc.). A “teleconference session” is a specificinstance of such a teleconference. In various embodiments, a person whois participating in a teleconference session is concurrently driving avehicle or a person who is requested to join a teleconference sessionwhile driving a vehicle. Accordingly, conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can provide conferencing assistance services tocommunicate driver state and/or context information 230 inteleconference sessions and/or respond to teleconference requests (e.g.,incoming phone call, incoming video call, incoming invitation to join ateleconference) while the driver is driving the vehicle.

Conferencing assistance application 152 can present driver state and/orcontext information 230 to persons other than the driver of the vehiclevia text, graphics, and/or audio. In some embodiments, conferencingassistance application 152 can transmit 234 driver state and/or contextinformation 230 in any of number of modalities during a teleconferencesession. Examples of those modalities include, without limitation, adashboard-style user interface, audible feedback (e.g., a generatedvoice conveying the information via speech, sound effects, a non-speechtone that changes speed depending on the information, weather sounds),ambient alerting (e.g., a light that changes color depending on theinformation), text and/or graphics injected into the teleconferencesession (e.g., text injected into a text chat associated with theteleconference session, text showing a party status in a teleconferenceuser interface). A number of these modalities are further describedbelow in conjunction with FIGS. 3 and 4 .

Further, conferencing assistance application 152 can respond 232 toincoming teleconference requests on behalf of the driver based on driverstate(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206.For example, conferencing assistance application 152 can determine that,based on driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or externalcontext(s) 206, a cognitive load of the driver is above a threshold whenan incoming teleconference request (e.g., a video chat call, a phonecall). Based on the cognitive load being above the threshold,conferencing assistance application 152 can automatically accept orreject the request without direct intervention by the driver. Dependingon the user configuration of conferencing assistance application 152,conferencing assistance application 152 can convey or not convey driverstate and/or context information 230 to the party making theteleconference request. Further details regarding responding toteleconference request are described below in conjunction with FIGS.5A-5B.

In various embodiments, as noted above, conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can generate driver state and/or context information 230based on driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or externalcontext(s) 206. Driver state and/or context information 230 can be asummary, condensation, aggregation, translation, visualization, and/or areformatting of driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/orexternal context(s) 206 into an expression suitable for presentation.For example, conferencing assistance application 152 can determine adriver distraction or absorption score or rating (e.g., a value, apercentage) based on a cognitive load and an emotional load of thedriver; the driver distraction or absorption rates a distraction orabsorption level of the driver based on the cognitive load and emotionalload of the driver and represents a composite of the cognitive load andemotional load. As another example, conferencing assistance application152 can generate speech data that vocalizes driver state and/or contextinformation 230. Conferencing assistance application 152 can generatedriver state and/or context information 230 from driver state(s) 202,internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206 using anytechnically feasible technique, including but not limited to lookuptables, mappings, formulas, or algorithms (e.g., an algorithm forcomputing a composite driver distraction score from the cognitive loadand the emotional load, an algorithm for computing an emotional loadscore from various biometric values and parameters).

In some embodiments, conferencing assistance application 152 caninterface with other applications to provide conferencing assistanceservices. The other applications can reside in computing device 180,another device paired with computing device 180, or at a remote device.The other applications can include, for example and without limitation,a conferencing application (e.g., a video conference application), atelephony application, or a personnel monitoring application.Conferencing assistance application 152 can interface with the otherapplications via respective application programming interfaces andoptionally via network 160. Conferencing assistance application 152 can,via interfacing with another application, transmit 234 driver stateand/or context information 230 to teleconference sessions that use thatanother application and/or respond 232 to incoming teleconferencerequests received by that another application. Conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can, via a network 160, transmit 234 driver state and/orcontext information 230 to a remote system hosting a teleconferencesession, where the remote system forwards driver state and/or contextinformation 230 to one or more other devices in the teleconferencesession. In some other embodiments, conferencing assistance application152 can be integrated within another application (e.g., within a videoconference application).

In some embodiments, conferencing assistance application 152 determineswhether other people associated with the teleconference session (e.g.,other people participating in the teleconference session, the personmaking the teleconference request to the driver) are approved ordisapproved to receive driver state and context information 230associated with the driver. Conferencing assistance application 152 candetermine such approvals based on one or more of a whitelist and/orblacklist configurable by a user (e.g., the driver), or prompts to thedriver to approve or disapprove a person. In some embodiments,conferencing assistance application 152 suppresses transmission ofdriver state and context information 230 associated with the driver ifat least one other person associated with the teleconference session isdisapproved to receive driver state and context information 230associated with the driver. In some other embodiments, conferencingassistance application 152 transmits driver state and contextinformation 230 associated with the driver if at least one other personassociated with the teleconference session is approved to receive driverstate and context information 230 associated with the driver. In somefurther embodiments, conferencing assistance application 152 transmitsdriver state and context information 230 to approved people andsuppresses transmissions to disapproved people, or otherwise causesdriver state and context information 230 to be presented to approvedpeople and suppresses presentation to disapproved people.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example teleconferencing user interface 300 thatincludes information indicating driver states of one or more peopleparticipating in a teleconference, according to various embodiments.Teleconferencing user interface 300 may be a user interface displayed bya video conferencing application during an active teleconferencesession. Teleconferencing user interface 300 can include windows orregions 302 showing the people participating in the teleconferencesession. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 teleconferencing user interface300 includes regions 302-1 thru 302-6 showing a number of peopleparticipating in the teleconference session. Furthermore, if one or moreof the people are driving a vehicle while participating in theteleconference session, driver state and context information 230associated with those people can be show in teleconferencing userinterface 300. Driver state and context information 230 can be providedby conferencing assistance application 152 operating in conjunction with(e.g., interfacing with) the video conferencing application.Accordingly, in region 302-1, driver state information 304 indicating adriving status and absorption rating is displayed for Person A. Inregion 302-6, driver state 306 information a driving status andabsorption rating is displayed for Person F. Driver state information304 and 306 communicate the driver states of Person A and Person F,respectively, to the other people in the teleconference session, so thatthe people in the teleconference are aware that Person A and Person Fmay be distracted from the teleconference session. In some embodiments,a user can select a region 302 (e.g., by clicking or tapping on theregion 302). In response to the selection, conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can cause to be displayed a dashboard or the like (e.g.,dashboard 400 described below in conjunction with FIG. 4 ) that displaysadditional driver state and context information 230 associated with theuser corresponding to the selected region 302. For example, a user canselect region 302-6, and in response to the selection conferencingassistance application 152 would cause a dashboard with driver state andcontext information 230 for Person F to be displayed.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example dashboard 400 for monitoring the state andcontext of a party to a teleconference, according to variousembodiments. In various embodiments, conferencing assistance application152 can provide driver state and context information 230 into apersonnel monitoring application on another device via network 160. Thepersonnel monitoring application at the other device can have adashboard 400, which is a user interface that can present driver stateand context information 230 for multiple people (e.g., participants in ateleconference, team members in communication with each other and/orwith a central coordinator). As shown, dashboard 400 includes windows orregions 402-1 thru 402-6 presenting various driver state and/or contextparameters for each driver. The parameters can include numerical valuesor scores, and charts or graphs. For example, region 402-1 shows acurrent heart rate of a driver, and region 402-2 shows a chart of theskin conductance of the driver over a period of time. Regions 402-3 thru402-6 shows values or scores rating the cognitive load, emotional load,stress level, and engagement level, respectively, of the driver. Thevalues or scores, and charts and graphs, shown in dashboard 400 can beupdated as updated driver state and context information 230 is receivedby the personnel monitoring application from conferencing assistanceapplication 152. Dashboard 400 further includes a “Team Member List”button 404. A user can activate button 404 (e.g., click or tap on button404 to select button 404) to open a list of people for which driverstate and context information 230 can be displayed in dashboard 400. Theuser can select a person from the list, and in response conferencingassistance application 152 populates regions 402 with driver stateand/or context parameters for the selected person.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate a flow diagram of process steps for communicatingdriver state and context information 230 in response to a teleconferencerequest, according to various embodiments. FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate aprocess 500 in which computing device 180 responds to a teleconferencerequest using driver state and context information 230 (and/or driverstate(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206)and transmits driver state and context information 230 to other peoplein the teleconference.

As shown, at step 502, computing device 180 receives a teleconferencerequest. For example, computing device 180 could receive an incomingphone call, an incoming video chat, or an incoming invitation to join ateleconference session. Conferencing assistance application 152 canreceive the request in conjunction with another application to which therequest is directed (e.g., telephony application, video conferencingapplication).

At step 504, computing device 180 determines a driver state and context.Driver monitoring application 150 can receive sensor data 222 fromsensor array 120 and determine driver state(s) 202, internal context(s)204, and/or external context(s) 206 based on sensor data 222. Drivermonitoring application 150 transmits driver state(s) 202, internalcontext(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206 to conferencingassistance application 152. Conferencing assistance application 152 candetermine driver state and/or context information 230 based on driverstate(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206.

At step 506, computing device 180 determines if the other person (i.e.,the person that made the request received in step 502) is approved toreceive driver state and/or context information 230. In someembodiments, conferencing assistance application 152 can be configuredby a user (e.g., the driver of the vehicle) to include a list of otherpeople that are preapproved to receive driver state and/or contextinformation 230.

If the other person is preapproved, then at step 508 computing device180 transmits driver state and/or context information 230 to the otherperson, informing the other person of the current driver state andcontext of the driver of the vehicle. Conferencing assistanceapplication 152 can transmit driver state and/or context information 230to a device of the other person via network 160 (e.g., audio signalsthat audibly indicates driver state and/or context information 230 andcan be output at the other device, driver state and/or contextinformation 230 that can be displayed on a display of the other device).Process 500 then proceeds to step 512.

If the other person is not preapproved, then at step 510, computingdevice 180 determines whether the driver is willing to approve whetherthe other person can receive driver state and/or context information 230for the current teleconference. For example, conferencing assistanceapplication 152 could prompt the driver to approve or deny the otherperson from receiving driver state and/or context information 230 thisone time. If the other person is not approved by the driver to receivedriver state and/or context information 230, then process 500 proceedsto step 512. If the other person is approved by the driver, then process500 proceeds to step 508, where computing device 180 (e.g., conferencingassistance application 152) transmits driver state and/or contextinformation 230 to the other person, as described above, and thenprocess 500 proceeds to step 512.

At step 512, computing device 180 determines whether to reject therequest received at step 502 on behalf of the driver based on driverstate and/or context information 230, in order to prevent the driverfrom being additionally burdened with participation in a teleconferenceconcurrently with driving the vehicle. For example, conferencingassistance application 152 can automatically reject an incoming requestif a distraction level, cognitive load, an emotional load, and/or thelike of the driver exceeds a threshold. As another example, conferencingassistance application 152 can automatically reject an incoming requestif the vehicle is located at a location where the driver experiences adistraction level, cognitive load, an emotional load, and/or the likethat exceeds a threshold. If conferencing assistance application 152determines that the request should be automatically rejected, thenprocess 500 proceeds to step 514, where process 500 ends (e.g.,conferencing assistance application 152 rejects the request andtransmits information indicating such to the other device, conferencingassistance application 152 simply ignores the request). If conferencingassistance application 152 determines that the request should not beautomatically rejected, then process 500 proceeds to step 516.

At step 516, computing device 180 determines whether the driver hasaccepted the request. If the request was not automatically rejected, thedriver can manually accept or reject the request. If the driver rejectedthe request (e.g., declined the call or invitation to join), thenprocess 500 proceeds to step 514, where process 500 ends. If the driveraccepted the request, then process 500 proceeds to step 518, wherecomputing device 180 joins the teleconference session. Conferencingassistance application 152 can join the session in conjunction withanother application to which the request is directed (e.g., theconferencing application).

At step 520, computing device 180 determines an updated driver state andcontext. For example, driver monitoring application 150 can receiveupdated sensor data 222 from sensor array 120 and determine updateddriver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s)206 based on updated sensor data 222. Driver monitoring application 150transmits updated driver state(s) 202, internal context(s) 204, and/orexternal context(s) 206 to conferencing assistance application 152.Conferencing assistance application 152 can determine updated driverstate and/or context information 230 based on updated driver state(s)202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206. In someembodiments, steps 506, 508, and 510 can be performed after step 520instead of or in addition to being performed after step 504 as shown.That is, after the teleconference request has been accepted,conferencing assistance application 152 can determine whether driverstate and/or context information 230 is to be transmitted to any of theother persons in the teleconference based on whether the other person isapproved by the driver to receive driver state and/or contextinformation 230 of the driver.

At step 522, computing device 180 can transmit updated driver stateand/or context information 230 to the other person or other peopleparticipating in the teleconference. Conferencing assistance application152 can transmit updated driver state and/or context information 230 tothe device of the other person or people via network 160, similar totransmission of driver state and/or context information 230 in step 508above.

At step 524, computing device 180 determines if the session has ended.If the session has not ended, then process 500 proceeds back to step520, where computing device 180 determines an updated driver state andcontext. If the session has ended, then process 500 proceeds to step514, where process 500 ends.

As described in FIGS. 3-5B above, conferencing assistance application152 can provide driver state and/or context information 230 in variousmodalities to inform other people participating in the teleconference ofthe driver state and context and/or relieve the driver of being burdenedwith a teleconference session while driving the vehicle. Othermodalities are within the scope of the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, driver state and/or context information 230 could include aword or phrase indicating the driver state and/or context, and the wordor phrase can be presented similarly as a value (e.g., displayed on adisplay, vocalized in speech). Conferencing assistance application 152can inject audio vocalizing or otherwise indicating driver state and/orcontext information 230 in the audio of the teleconference session(e.g., output audio signals vocalizing driver state and/or contextinformation 230 into the audio stream of the teleconference session,output non-speech audio tones conveying driver state and/or contextinformation 230 via a speed of the tones). Additionally oralternatively, conferencing assistance application 152 can input textand/or graphics indicating driver state and/or context information 230into a chat associated with the teleconference session. Furtheradditionally or alternatively, conferencing assistance application 152can command another device to convey driver state and/or contextinformation 230 visually (e.g., via ambient lighting at that anotherdevice that change color or a rate that a color changes depending on thedriver state and/or context).

In some embodiments, conferencing assistance application 152 canautomatically accept the teleconference request based on driver stateand context information 230, as well as automatically reject ateleconference request. For example, conferencing assistance application152 can automatically reject the teleconference request, as describedabove, or automatically accept the teleconference request. Conferencingassistance application 152 can automatically accept the teleconferencerequest if the distraction level, cognitive load, an emotional load,and/or the like of the driver is below a second threshold. The secondthreshold may be the same as or different than the threshold describedabove with respect to automatically rejecting the teleconference requestin step 512. If the second threshold is a different threshold, and thedistraction level or the like is between the two thresholds, thenconferencing assistance application 152 can allow the driver to manuallyaccept or reject the teleconference request, as in step 516 above.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of method steps for communicating driver stateand context information in a teleconference, according to variousembodiments. Although the method steps are described with respect to thesystems of FIGS. 1-5B, persons skilled in the art will understand thatany system configured to perform the method steps, in any order, fallswithin the scope of the various embodiments.

As shown, method 600 begins at step 602, where computing device 180obtains sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle and sensordata associated with the vehicle. Computing device 180 (e.g., drivermonitoring application 150) obtains sensor data 222 from sensor array120 of a vehicle. Sensor data 222 can include biometric data of a driverof the vehicle, as well as sensor data monitoring a cabin of the vehicleand optionally an external environment of the vehicle.

At step 604, computing device 180 determines a driver state and contextbased on the sensor data. Driver monitoring application 150 candetermine driver state 202, internal context(s) 204, and/or externalcontext(s) 206 based on sensor data 222.

At step 606, computing device 180 generates information based on thedriver state and context. Conferencing assistance application 152 candetermine driver state and context information 230 based on driver state202, internal context(s) 204, and/or external context(s) 206.

At step 608, computing device 180 transmits the information in ateleconference session. Conferencing assistance application 152 cantransmit driver state and context information 230 in an ongoingteleconference session. For example, conferencing assistance application152 could transmit driver state and context information 230 to a remotecomputing system hosting the teleconference session, and the remotecomputing system could transmit driver state and context information 230to devices associated with parties in the teleconference session fordisplay on the devices.

In sum, the disclosed techniques may be used to provide teleconferencingcapabilities that can account for and/or communicate information basedon the state and context of a person participating in a teleconferencewho is concurrently driving a vehicle. A computing system obtains sensordata from a sensor array monitoring the driver of the vehicle, and alsothe cabin of the vehicle and optionally other occupants of the vehicle.Optionally the computing system also obtains sensor data from a sensorarray monitoring the environment outside of the vehicle. The computingsystem determines a driver state and/or context based on the sensordata. The computing system may communicate information based on thedriver state and/or context in a variety of modalities. In someembodiments, information based on the driver state and/or context may becommunicated in response to an incoming teleconference request as wellas during the teleconference.

At least one advantage and technological improvement of the disclosedtechniques is that information indicating state and/or context of aperson participating in a teleconference who is also concurrentlydriving a vehicle can be automatically communicated to other peopleparticipating in the teleconference. Accordingly, the other people canadjust expectations for the teleconference or abort the teleconferencebased on the information. Another advantage and improvement is thatincoming teleconference requests can be automatically accepted orrejected based on the driver state and/or context, thus allowing thedriver to focus on driving the vehicle without the additional burden ofhaving to decline an incoming teleconference request.

1. In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method comprisesobtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle; determininga state associated with the driver based on the sensor data; andtransmitting the state associated with the driver to a teleconferencesession, wherein the driver is at least one of a participant or aninvitee to the teleconference session.

2. The method of clause 1, wherein the state associated with the drivercomprises at least one of a cognitive load, an emotional load, or abiometric parameter associated with the driver.

3. The method of clauses 1 or 2, further comprising determining acontext associated with a cabin of the vehicle.

4. The method of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the context associated withthe cabin of the vehicle comprises at least one of occupants in thecabin or activity in the cabin.

5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, wherein determining the stateassociated with the driver comprises determining the state associatedwith the driver further based on the context associated with the cabin.

6. The method of any of clauses 1-5, further comprising determining acontext associated with an environment exterior to the vehicle.

7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, wherein the context associated withthe environment exterior to the vehicle comprises at least one oftraffic density level, weather, or a location of the vehicle.

8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein determining the stateassociated with the driver comprises determining the state associatedwith the driver further based on the context associated with theenvironment exterior to the vehicle.

9. The method of any of clauses 1-8, wherein the state associated withthe driver comprises a value representing a distraction level or anabsorption level associated with the driver.

10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein transmitting the stateassociated with the driver to the teleconference session comprisestransmitting the state associated with the driver to a remote systemhosting the teleconference session, wherein the remote system isconfigured to transmit the state associated with the driver to devicesassociated with one or more people participating in the teleconferencesession.

11. In some embodiments, a system comprises one or more sensor devicesassociated with a vehicle; a memory storing an application; and aprocessor that, when executing the application, is configured to obtainsensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle from the one or moresensor devices; determine a state associated with the driver based onthe sensor data; and transmit the state associated with the driver to ateleconference session, wherein the driver is at least one of aparticipant or an invitee to the teleconference session.

12. The system of clause 11, wherein the processor, when executing theapplication, is further configured to obtain second sensor dataassociated with a cabin of the vehicle from the one or more sensordevices; determine a context associated with the cabin of the vehiclebased on the second sensor data; and determine the state associated withthe driver further based on the context associated with the cabin.

13. The system of clauses 11 or 12, wherein the processor, whenexecuting the application, is further configured to obtain third sensordata associated with an environment exterior to the vehicle from the oneor more sensor devices; determine a context associated with theenvironment exterior to the vehicle based on the third sensor data; anddetermine the state associated with the driver further based on thecontext associated with the environment exterior to the vehicle.

14. The system of any of clauses 11-13, wherein the processor, whenexecuting the application, is further configured to receive ateleconference request associated with the teleconference session; andaccept the teleconference request based on the state associated with thedriver.

15. The system of any of clauses 11-14, wherein the processor, whenexecuting the application, is further configured to receive ateleconference request associated with the teleconference session; andreject the teleconference request based on the state associated with thedriver.

16. The system of any of clauses 11-15, wherein transmitting the stateassociated with the driver to the teleconference session comprisesdetermining that other people in the teleconference session are approvedto receive the state associated with the driver.

17. In some embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer-readablestorage media include instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps ofobtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle; determininga state associated with the driver based on the sensor data; receiving ateleconference request; and responding to the teleconference requestbased on the state associated with the driver.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media ofclause 17, wherein responding to the teleconference request comprisestransmitting the state associated with the driver to a device associatedwith a person making the teleconference request.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media ofclauses 17 or 18, wherein the steps further comprise joining ateleconference session associated with the teleconference request; andtransmitting the state associated with the driver to the teleconferencesession.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media ofany of clauses 17-19, wherein responding to the teleconference requestcomprises automatically rejecting the teleconference request based onthe state associated with the driver.

Any and all combinations of any of the claim elements recited in any ofthe claims and/or any elements described in this application, in anyfashion, fall within the contemplated scope of the present disclosureand protection.

The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented forpurposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variationswill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Aspects of the present embodiments may be embodied as a system, methodor computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “module,” a“system,” or a “computer.” In addition, any hardware and/or softwaretechnique, process, function, component, engine, module, or systemdescribed in the present disclosure may be implemented as a circuit orset of circuits. Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may takethe form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computerreadable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodiedthereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine. The instructions, when executed via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, enable theimplementation of the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/orblock diagram block or blocks. Such processors may be, withoutlimitation, general purpose processors, special-purpose processors,application-specific processors, or field-programmable gate arrays.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While the preceding is directed to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:obtaining sensor data associated with a driver of a vehicle; determininga state associated with the driver based on the sensor data; determiningwhether one or more participants of a teleconference session areapproved to receive the state associated with the driver, wherein thedriver is at least one of a participant or an invitee to theteleconference session hosted by a remote system; and upon determiningthat the one or more participants are approved to receive the state,transmitting the state associated with the driver to the remote systemfor forwarding the state to the one or more participants of theteleconference session.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stateassociated with the driver comprises at least one of a cognitive load,an emotional load, or a biometric parameter associated with the driver.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a contextassociated with a cabin of the vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the context associated with the cabin of the vehicle comprisesat least one of occupants in the cabin or activity in the cabin.
 5. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the step of determining the state associatedwith the driver comprises determining the state associated with thedriver further based on the context associated with the cabin.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining a context associatedwith an environment exterior to the vehicle.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the context associated with the environment exterior to thevehicle comprises at least one of traffic density level, weather, or alocation of the vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step ofdetermining the state associated with the driver comprises determiningthe state associated with the driver further based on the contextassociated with the environment exterior to the vehicle.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the state associated with the driver comprises avalue representing a distraction level or an absorption level associatedwith the driver.
 10. A system, comprising: one or more sensor devicesassociated with a vehicle; a memory storing an application; and aprocessor that, when executing the application, is configured to: obtainsensor data associated with a driver of the vehicle from the one or moresensor devices; determine a state associated with the driver based onthe sensor data; determine whether one or more participants of ateleconference session are approved to receive the state associated withthe driver, wherein the driver is at least one of a participant or aninvitee to the teleconference session hosted by a remote system; andupon determining that the one or more participants are approved toreceive the state, transmit the state associated with the driver to theremote system for forwarding the state to the one or more participantsof the teleconference session.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein theprocessor, when executing the application, is further configured to:obtain second sensor data associated with a cabin of the vehicle fromthe one or more sensor devices; determine a context associated with thecabin of the vehicle based on the second sensor data; and determine thestate associated with the driver further based on the context associatedwith the cabin.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor, whenexecuting the application, is further configured to: obtain third sensordata associated with an environment exterior to the vehicle from the oneor more sensor devices; determine a context associated with theenvironment exterior to the vehicle based on the third sensor data; anddetermine the state associated with the driver further based on thecontext associated with the environment exterior to the vehicle.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the processor, when executing theapplication, is further configured to: receive a teleconference requestassociated with the teleconference session; and accept theteleconference request based on the state associated with the driver.14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor, when executing theapplication, is further configured to: receive a teleconference requestassociated with the teleconference session; and reject theteleconference request based on the state associated with the driver.15. The system of claim 10, wherein the step of transmitting the stateassociated with the driver to the teleconference session comprisesdetermining that other people in the teleconference session are approvedto receive the state associated with the driver.
 16. One or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media including instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform the steps of: obtaining sensor data associatedwith a driver of a vehicle; determining, based on the sensor data, astate associated with the driver; receiving a teleconference request;and in response to the teleconference request: automatically joining ateleconference session associated with the teleconference request whenthe state associated with the driver is equal to or below a threshold,and automatically rejecting the teleconference request when the stateassociated with the driver is above the threshold.
 17. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein thestep of responding to the teleconference request comprises transmittingthe state associated with the driver to a device associated with aperson making the teleconference request.
 18. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein thesteps further comprise determining a context associated with at leastone of a cabin of the vehicle or an environment exterior to the vehicle,wherein the step of determining the state associated with the drivercomprises determining the state associated with the driver further basedon the context associated with the cabin.
 19. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein thestate associated with the driver comprises an absorption levelassociated with the driver.